The US is emphatically not founded on Christian principles. This is explicitly stated in the Constitution, both in the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”) and in Article VI, section 3 (“…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”) In addition, the Treaty of Tripoli, itself a legally binding document, bears these words: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

The United States is a secular nation, not a Christian nation. Any claim to the contrary is founded in ignorance of the Constitution, or in delusion. Check mate, I’m afraid, for the Dominionists.

6 Responses to “Was the US founded on Christian principles?”

It’s remarkable that so many Americans don’t get this — or choose to ignore it — isn’t it? Where the American constitution is concerned, I’m no expert… actually, no, compared to many Americans I probably am! (Present company excepted!) I certainly know that sure statement is factually correct.

Nice blog, by the way. I came over via Lottie’s blog, Rambling On, and have added you to my feed reader.

I find it ironic that the United Kingdom, ostensibly a theocracy in which the monarch is the head of the church, is far more secular in some respects than the United States. This is mainly because of the decline of religious belief than any wise act of governance, of course, but it’s still rather amusing.

I would say that the Spanish Inquisition was the last real institution to be wholly “founded on Christian principles.” The US, on the other hand, was founded on the repudiation of the Spanish Inquisition and everything it stood for.